Brent Hudson ⋅ Buffalo, NY ⋅ 25 years experience

My family and I thank you for your service.

I grew up in a manufacturing environment so I'm sure we have some similarities. My question to you is what type of lead/supervisor position is it that you're trying for. A team or line lead is much different than a Production Superintendent position. Without knowing what you are being turned down for and what experience you have, I would suggest taking stock of the positions you've held and look for the next logical step for that position. If you spent most of your time as a line or team lead, then a shift lead may be the next step for you. I know that I've dealt with several people who attempted to jump from a line lead directly to a Super or Managerial role and were very frustrated. But trust me from having worked through all those positions, each one has valuable experiences and key learnings. So take a look at where you are and where you are trying to go. Map it out and see if your experience matches your desires. If it doesn't, reset your desire and take the appropriate step. Good luck.

Seth Lynch ⋅ Plano, TX Hewlett Packard ⋅ 15 years experience

Danny,

I am going to make an assumption that when you say advance, you mean advance at an already established company into a management position and not start a business. Hopefully I got that part of your ask right.

Whether you are applying at new companies or your existing company, focus on your military experience and not your 20 years in manufacturing. You're an E-4 in the US Army. You have been put in charge of something during drills or annual training.

Let that experience be the lead story in your resume. If your Army experience is just a line item at the bottom of your resume, think about changing your chronological resume to a functional resume. With a different layout and flow you may bring light to skills otherwise buried.

A functional resume lets you change from the traditional Job, company, date range layout to a layout where you focus on different attributes of your experience across multiple roles in a single area. Looks something like this:

Leadership Experience:
- US Army, Specialist August 2012: Lead a team of 4 soldiers through infantry skills training receiving an 'exceeds standards' rating for the exercise
US/ Army Specialist January-March 2013: Took charge of an infantry squad for 3 months during the abscence of the squad leader. SUpervised team of 9 soldiers during vehicle maintenance, administrative, and tactical training receiving accolates from the company FIrst Sergeant.

Manufacturing Experience:
- XYZ Company, May 1994-present: 20 years of experience...

See how that calls out what you want to do next with your career but still allows you to show your past experience?

Finally, if you are looking to move into a supervisor's role at a current company, talk up your military experience any time you get a chance. Focus on the leadership aspect of what you are doing, even if you just helped an E-1 just out of BCT figure out how to get around the armory, that's leadership.

Anna Reifman ⋅ Arlington Heights, IL Allstate Insurance Company ⋅ 13 years experience

Danny, the advice that you've been given is solid. What I can add is that if you're told you don't have enough supervisory experience, it might mean that 1. you don't have it or 2. it's not evident from your resume.

If they won't make you a supervisor at your current company, 1. ask your leaders what concrete experience you need, to be considered. Then set up a plan (with them) to achieve it. Have them make you into the supervisor they want (literally). 2. Ask for a mentor, a senior leader within the company that can elevate your skills and advocate on your behalf. 3. Ask for a project to lead, or something on a trial basis, where you can showcase your talents (also good for when you leave, as you can add the experience to your resume).

If they won't make you a supervisor at a different company, most likely it's a resume issue. Somehow your leadership experience is not coming through. Study the job postings you're interested in, and rewrite/add to your resume in such a way that the experience they're looking for and you possess, mirror each other.

Alan J. Zell ⋅ Portland, OR Attitudes for Selling ⋅ 29 years experience

Danny, Since you didn't state what it is that you have experience in, it's difficult to give you a definitive response. My suggestion is to go to SCORE which is a FREE consulting service associated with the US Sm Bus Adm. With over 400 offices and 14,000 experienced business people, I believe you'll get the help you are looking for. Go to www.score.org and put in your zip code and you'll get a list of the closest chapter(s). If any of them do not have what you're looking for, there is are members from all over the US that will.

What it will call for is developing a business plan which will include coming up with costs and other expenses and, as important, how to find potential users of what you'll be manufacturing.

It's our way of paying you back for what you've done for us.

Alan Zell

Tom Ordonez ⋅ Miami, FL ⋅ 14 years experience

Hey Danny,

Probably you are not aware of the "Makers Movement". This is a trend that has been building up exactly from your background.

Look into these topics:
* Makers movement
* 3D printing
* Lean startup

If you have 20y experience of manufacturing you have the perfect profile to work at any of those 3D printing businesses. This is the future of manufacturing.